Review: Here for Us by A.M. Arthur

Cris Sable heads into Big Dick’s looking for a hook up for the night, but he doesn’t expect his attention to be drawn to the hot go-go boy dancing on the platform. The guys connect immediately and end up having an incredibly hot night together, but Jake bails without a word the next day and seems to be pushing Cris away when he approaches Jake about getting together again.

When Cris’ longtime friend (and boss) Chet Greenwood is in need of a night out, Cris takes him out dancing. Cris has been hot for Chet for years, but since Cris is a part-time porn star and Chet runs the company, they have always kept it professional. Now that Cris is considering ending his porn career, however, acting on the connection they have seems like it could be a real possibility.

However, when Jake comes back into Cris’ life, suddenly Cris finds himself with two men he cares about. Both Chet and Jake are willing to step aside so Cris can pursue the other man. Jake thinks as a sometimes scattered young go-go dancer that Cris can do much better with Chet. And Chet, being much older than both men, thinks Cris is better off with someone closer to his age and with whom the chemistry clearly sparks. But both these men mean so much to Cris, he can’t imagine losing either one. It isn’t until Jake and Chet end up meeting and spending time together that a third option begins to become clear. These men all are growing to care about one another, and there is a strong attraction among them. If they are willing to be open and honest with their feelings, there may just be room for all three men in their new relationship.

I picked this book up for Opposites Attract Week as I am a fan of A.M. Arthur’s writing and it immediately seemed like the perfect fit. First off, we have the age gap component, which is significant here with men ages 23, 28, and 48. While the age difference is not presented as a major hurdle, it does come into play nicely, especially with regard to Jake and Chet and their own insecurities about being the right guy for Cris. Jake feels he is too young and unestablished, while Chet worries he is too much older than Cris. We also see it in Chet’s strong, steady presence as someone who has seen more of life and has some perspective that Jake often doesn’t have. We also get a bit of gentle teasing between the younger men and the older Chet, and I enjoyed how the age gap is nicely brought into the story, but isn’t a point of obsessive focus or angst. The other way opposites play into this story is in the personalities of the men, who are all different. Again, some is due to age and maturity, but there is just a different personality and approach to life among these three that makes them interesting and easy to distinguish characters.

I am a fan of menage romances and I liked the way it plays out here. Although the story gives us a look into all three men’s viewpoints, in many ways it feels much like Cris’ story as he is the connection between the other two. We have a new and super hot chemistry between Cris and Jake, and a more established relationship with Chet where both men have been long attracted to one another and not acted on it. I enjoyed seeing both of these romantic relationships grow and develop almost along side one another. Arthur does a nice job navigating here as I never felt like Cris is really pursuing both men at once, as much as things are developing kind of in tandem. This story could have been messy, but instead the romances develop very organically and slowly begin to cross over and merge in a very natural way. Things between Jake and Chet grow much more slowly, and even by the end of the story aren’t quite where Cris is with either man, which is natural given the way things develop. But by the time we have all three men together, I could really believe that they fit as a threesome, and not just as two separate relationships for Cris.

I did have a few small concerns here, however. First off, this story is the start of a new series, but sort of a spin off from Arthur’s Perspectives series (these guys apparently appeared as side characters there). I had absolutely no trouble following the story of these three men here without having read about them in the other books. However, I found myself frequently lost by the appearance of so many characters from the other series being brought in here as secondary characters. There were six main characters in the other three books and all are at least mentioned here and most actually appear on page. There are also a host of side characters from those books and this one and honestly, it became overwhelming to keep track of everyone. This was made even more complicated because most of the porn stars used both real and acting names at times, PLUS Chet is sometimes called Charles. It just became impossible to keep track of who all these people were. On top of that, these guys are all connected as friends, roommates, co-workers, etc and they all have their own stories and relationships that were explained when they showed up. It seemed like we needed a full backstory on even folks who appear for just the barest cameos. When someone says hello in a club, we don’t necessarily need to know their whole relationship history and full backstory. It was not only confusing, but also seemed kind of gratuitous, like each character needed page time regardless of their role in this book.

I’ll also throw in that while I thought Cris, Chet, and Jake are totally awesome guys, at times they seemed a bit too perfect and self sacrificing. Chet and Cris in particular are amazingly kind and generous to a fault. Chet jumps in to help take care of Jake just because he knows Jake is important to Cris. Both Chet and Jake are falling all over themselves to send Cris to the other man whom they feel is more deserving of his love. I just felt like it was a touch too much and would have liked to see an occasional bout of jealousy or anger or something in the midst of it all to make these guys seem more real. It also might have helped picked things up in what was at times a sluggish middle as everyone goes back and forth trying to sort out where Cris really does belong.

Those concerns aside, I really did like these guys and I am intrigued by their relationship. We also meet some interesting side characters here that I am really hoping have a story of their own. The next book in the series will feature Cris, Chet, and Jake again, and I am really excited about that as this book just starts to delve into what they can really be together, and I am really looking for more. So this was an enjoyable story and is a particularly nice choice for Opposites Attract Week.

Note: A.M. Arthur has contributed a copy of this book to our huge Opposites Attract Week giveaway! Be sure to stop by for a chance to win this and other great prizes!

Oh good, I hope you enjoy it! I also loved Hot Licks, another menage by the author (and part of the Off Beat series). That one takes an established couple and adds a third, versus here where we have the guys sort of coming together as two couples and then joining. So two different takes on menage and both excellent.

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Ami
on April 4, 2017 at 3:55 am

However, I found myself frequently lost by the appearance of so many characters from the other series being brought in here as secondary characters

Hmmm… thanks for this, it will be a good thing to know/think about

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Welcome to Joyfully Jay! My name is Jay and I started this blog because I love to read and wanted a place to share my thoughts with other readers and lovers of romance. Joyfully Jay kicked off back in September 2011 and we are growing bigger every day! We review primarily romance featuring men, but we also review all kinds of LGBTQ romance here, as well as literary fiction and non-fiction. In addition to book reviews, we host daily author guest posts and regular giveaways. So lots of fun stuff and we keep quite busy here! …read more